Andrew Hill - Solo, Mosaic Select 23 [2006] (3 x CDs)

SUNDAY JAZZ

ANDREW HILL

Andrew Hill - Solo, Mosaic Select 23 [2006] (3 x CDs)

When I think of Andrew Hill's recorded legacy, my mind usually goes first to the remarkable Blue Note albums of the 1960s. Yet Solo, Mosaic Select 23 reveals a different side of his artistry, one that feels unusually personal and direct. 

Released by Mosaic Records in 2006 as Mosaic Select 23, this limited-edition three-CD set opened a significant and largely unexplored chapter in the recorded career of Andrew Hill. Drawn from sessions recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California during August and October 1978, the collection brought together a substantial body of solo piano performances that had remained almost entirely unheard for nearly three decades. Limited to 5,000 copies, the release formed part of Mosaic's Select series, a program devoted to historically important recordings that had previously received little commercial exposure.

The significance of these sessions lies partly in their timing. By 1978, Hill was already widely respected for the innovative Blue Note recordings he had made during the 1960s, yet this period of his career remained comparatively under-documented. The Fantasy recordings reveal an artist continuing to refine and expand his musical language outside the spotlight that accompanied his earlier work. Performing alone at the piano, Hill was free from the structural demands of an ensemble setting, allowing compositions and improvisations to develop with unusual openness and flexibility.

The repertoire includes pieces such as Moonlit Monterey, California Tinge, 17 Mile Drive, Pastoral Pittsburg and Above Big Sur, many of them reflecting places and impressions drawn from the California environment in which the sessions were recorded. Throughout the three discs, lyrical passages coexist with angular harmonies, shifting rhythms and moments of striking spontaneity. The music often feels less concerned with resolution than with exploration, documenting ideas as they emerge and evolve.

From an archival perspective, the set fills an important gap in the Andrew Hill discography. Aside from two performances originally issued on the 1979 Artist House album From California With Love, the material was previously unavailable. As a result, Solo, Mosaic Select 23 is more than a historical curiosity. It preserves a major body of work from a period that had long remained in the shadows, providing valuable insight into Hill's development as a solo pianist and composer. For collectors, it remains one of the most important releases in the Mosaic Select catalogue, combining exemplary restoration, detailed documentation and a remarkable musical discovery. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Andrew Hill - Moonlit Monterey 16:02

02 Andrew Hill - 17 Mile Drive 12:22

03 Andrew Hill - Gone With The Wind 6:06

04 Andrew Hill - I Remember Clifford 4:30

05 Andrew Hill - Moonlit Monterey (alt take) 9:01

CD2

01 Andrew Hill - California Tinge 11:46

02 Andrew Hill - Napa Valley Twilight 10:13

03 Andrew Hill - Above Big Sur 15:59

04 Andrew Hill - An Afternoon in Berkeley 12:14

05 Andrew Hill - California Tinge (first version) 24:38

CD3

01 Andrew Hill - From California With Love 20:02

02 Andrew Hill - Reverend Du Bop 18:42

03 Andrew Hill - Pastoral Pittsburg 11:00

04 Andrew Hill - Pittsburg Impasse 5:54

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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